A group of approximately 120 healthcare workers face the termination of their basic pay on 31 December. They have been receiving their basic pay in recognition of the fact that they contracted Covid at the peak of the pandemic in high-risk settings such as hospital wards and have paid an enormous price in the form of ongoing long Covid symptoms, including debilitating post-exertional malaise. While we will be looking forward to rest and leisure over the Christmas period, these healthcare workers face the loss of their financial security, not being able to pay their mortgages after using up their standard sick leave, and ultimately having to retire prematurely on medical grounds. A group of these workers met the Taoiseach in Cork in June and felt he gave them a lot of time, showed genuine empathy and concern for their situation and, crucially, validated the seriousness of their symptoms and the fact that they had contracted Covid in the workplace. However, Ireland, with Greece, remains an outlier in Europe in not recognising long Covid as an occupational injury for the cohort in question. Can we extend the pay arrangement for six months while occupational injury status is properly explored?

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue to the workers concerned. I did meet them. We had a further extension following that meeting and a consultation with Ministers, particularly the Minister for Health. I will talk to the Ministers involved again. I do not want to raise any hopes or anything like that because, as the Deputy knows, this went to the Labour Court, which made a recommendation of a further extension at the time. That said, I will talk to other Ministers in respect of this.